Category: Union Territory

London: A Kashmiri freelance photographer has won the 2016 Wisden–MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year competition for Saqib Majeed, a photojournalist of eight years, came across the scene on a visit to Nishat Bagh – one of the most famous Mughal gardens. Shooting from a vantage point of 35 feet up, Majeed was able to capture the entire game amongst the autumnal colours of the surrounding chinar trees.

Philip Brown’s image of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan batting against England during the First Test in Chittagong was one of two equal runners-up.

Asanka Brendon Ratnayake was the other runner-up for his photograph of India captain Virat Kohli warming his hands near the flames as he took the field for a T20 International against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Kohli, who enjoyed a hugely successful year, featured more than any other player in the competition entries.

As winner, Majeed is awarded £2,000, while Brown and Ratnayake win £1,000. All three images appear at the beginning of the colour section of the 2017 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

Srinagar: Traffic Police City Srinagar today issued a traffic diversion plan for public service vehicles (PSVs) arriving in Srinagar during peak hours for safe commuting and congestion free traffic in view of closure of Ram Bagh bridge-Solina fly over zone.

According to the SSP Traffic Srinagar, PSVs coming from South Kashmir including Budgam (Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and adjacent areas) shall adopt Pantha Chowk-Sanatnagar-Nowgam-Hyderpora-Tengpora-Batamaloo Bus Adda route.

Similarly PSVs coming from North Kashmir (Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and adjacent areas) shall adopt Shaltang-Parimpora-Bemina Byepass-Tengpora-Batamaloo Bus Adda route.

The SSP Traffic said the diversion plan has been formulated for safe commuting and congestion-free traffic in view of closure of Ram Bagh Bridge–Solina flyover zone.

The plan will be in effect from April 10, 2017, during peak hours from 0900 hours to 1100 hours.

All the PSV operators have been asked to strictly adhere to the traffic plan.

Progress of work on TRC mini flyover

The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, today convened a meeting to review the progress of the Mini Flyover (Grade Separator) being constructed at the TRC Crossing here.

Additional Commissioner Kashmir, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Director Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) Kashmir, Chief Engineer R&B, SSP Traffic Srinagar, Chief Town Planner, Vice President J&K Bank, District Floriculture Officer, besides other concerned attended the meeting.

The meeting was informed that the project was awarded to the ERA at an estimated cost of Rs 47.00 crore and that it is projected to be completed by December 2017.

The Div Com directed the Department of Floriculture to give all the necessary permissions to the ERA so that construction work isn’t affected. He also directed the SSP Traffic to issue special permissions for ferrying construction material to the ERA.

The Div Com also directed the concerned agencies to work in a coordinated manner and asked them to expedite and complete the construction work within the stipulated time.

During the meeting, it was given out that while a total of 11 Chinar trees in the way of the construction site are required to be felled, the Chinar Development Wing of the Floriculture Department will plant 110 Chinar saplings to cover the loss.

Srinagar: Authorities at Kashmir University have sealed the main cafeteria of Varsity for offering meals to students at exorbitant rates, a move hailed by both teaching and non-teaching staff.

Reports said that a group of Varsity students created a scene inside the cafeteria after they asked the owner to keep the rate list on display. Acting upon the complaints of students, authorities investigated the matter and accordingly sealed the cafeteria. “There are cafeterias in every University which offer meals to students at cheaper rates but here in Kashmir University the case was otherwise. For a simple cup of tea, you had to pay Rs 20 and besides you are forced to consume Kabab, kanti and chicken as rice and vegetables are not in the menu of the cafeteria owner,” a student said.

This cafeteria is run by an individual from past 15 years though authorities at University are supposed to float tenders to handover the cafeteria to the highest bidder. “The irony is that the cafeteria owner has renovated the canteen on his own and whatever he has spent on the renovation is getting deducted from the rent he is supposed to pay to University on monthly basis. University has to wait for further 10 years, if it wants to vacate him,” sources added. (CNS)

Srinagar: The Kashmir valley witnessed moderate-intensity rainfall today even as the weather department issued a forecast that more downpour was likely in the region during the next two days.The rainfall began in the morning across all parts of the Kashmir valley. It continued intermittently throughout the day.All districts of the Kashmir valley received the downpour with reports of snowfall in the higher mountainous reaches, an official of the state meteorological department said.The downpour significantly brought down the mercury and the day’s temperature took a drastic plunge causing wintry cold in the region.The meteorological department in its forecast bulletin said the rainfall would continue for at least two more days on Wednesday and Thursday. The department said the downpour over the next two days would be widespread following which the intensity would decrease during the two subsequent days on Friday and Saturday.The department also issued a warning saying heavy rain and thundershowers were likely at isolated places in the Kashmir valley and Jammu division during the next two days. (TNS)

Srinagar: A video of a cricket match held at a local ground in the Kashmir valley has gone viral on social media in which players of one team are seen wearing Pakistan team’s uniform and singing the country’s anthem.The match was reportedly played at a ground in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, which along with two other districts goes to the polls later this week. The video of the match shows a speaker making an announcement that Pakistan’s national anthem will be played ahead of the start of the match, following which the two teams stand upright and listen to the anthem. While players of one team were wearing a white uniform, the other team members were wearing the green Pakistani uniform. The match was played on Sunday this week when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state to inaugurate a tunnel. — TNS

There is a well-oiled nexus between private hospitals and doctors that is pushing patients into cesareans they don’t need.

Srinagar: Raising concern over unnecessary cesarean deliveries that have reached epidemic proportions in Kashmir, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today said that majority of these surgeries are done for financial gains.
Terming this practice as unethical, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said that doctors are motivated by money to perform needless surgical deliveries.
There is a well-oiled nexus between private hospitals and doctors that is pushing patients into cesareans they don’t need.
A perception has been generated that cesareans are better than normal deliveries.
In order to convince perfectly healthy women to opt for elective cesarean section before their due date, doctors tell them about so called benefits of the surgery.
First time mothers are especially targeted because if a woman has a C-section once, she would need surgeries for subsequent pregnancies.
Doctors are paid much more money for a surgical procedure than a normal delivery and hospitals rake in money for patients’ longer stay and other related services.
Birth has become a lucrative business and private hospitals earn up to Rs 50,000 on a cesarean package.
A cesarean is less time consuming and more profitable.
A doctor would do 12 cesareans in the time it takes to attend one normal delivery.
In government hospitals also, surgical births have increased dramatically.
To learn the technique, postgraduate students perform cesareans when they are not required.
According to “WHO”, C-sections should only be performed if either the baby’s or mother’s life is in mortal peril.
While WHO states that cesarean delivery rates should be no higher than 10%, but the rates at Kashmir hospitals are as high as 80%.
Research suggests that unnecessary cesareans are risky for both mother and child.
Studies indicate that the chance of maternal mortality is 4-5 times more after an elective cesarean than a normal delivery.
In a study published in “BMJ”, Researchers found that cesarean babies were up to 4 times more likely to have respiratory problems.
“The natural birth is the ideal way and if it was better to deliver through the stomach, nature would have surely made it so”.

 

Srinagar: The University of Kashmir has figured among top 100 universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2017) released by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development on Monday.

The NIRF outlines a methodology to rank academic, technology and research institutions across the country on the basis of standard parameters.

The University of Kashmir has figured at Rank No. 73 (Point Score: 36.32) in the ranking system, where about 3000 institutions of higher education participated.

The parameters on which the University, like other institutions across the country, has been evaluated include Teaching, Learning & Resources; Research and Professional Practice; Graduation Outcomes; Outreach and Inclusivity and Peer Perception.

This marks a significant progress by the University of Kashmir in the last three years in the standard parameters used for the ranking.

The NIRF was approved by the MHRD and launched on 29th of September 2015.

The progress made by the University of Kashmir owes to a series of reforms put in place over the past few years, especially in teaching and research.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi expressed satisfaction over the progress made by the University and congratulated one and all, including the team of Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance (DIQA) for the achievement. He emphasized that the University shall continue to strive to improve its credentials in teaching and research in tune with the globally-set benchmarks.